Nassau County deputies shoot, kill gunman said to be suicidal at cemetery

Scott Butler, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union
·2 min read
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The Nassau County Sheriff's Office cordons off the scene at Green Pine Cemetery in Yulee where deputies shot and killed a man who was said to be suicidal and holding a gun.
The Nassau County Sheriff's Office cordons off the scene at Green Pine Cemetery in Yulee where deputies shot and killed a man who was said to be suicidal and holding a gun.

In the first shooting by the Nassau County Sheriff's Office since January 2023, a call about a suicidal man at Green Pine Cemetery led to him being shot and killed by deputies Thursday morning.

The Sheriff's Office said it began shortly after 9 a.m. when deputies were called to the Yulee cemetery at 96281 Green Pine Road for a wellness check on the man. When they located him, he was pointing a pistol at his head.

Deputies attempted to de-escalate the situation and persuade him to put down the weapon and talk. However, at one point he pointed his firearm at them and they shot him, the Sheriff's Office said.

"This was not the desired outcome, but our priority is ensuring our deputies' safety so they can return home," the Sheriff's Office said. "Our hearts go out to the individual's family members during this difficult time."

No name and or age of the suspect or the deputies were released as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement took over the investigation.

The last time Nassau County deputies shot somebody also was for a person said to be threatening to kill herself. On Jan. 11, deputies were called about 2:15 a.m. to a home on Barbara Lane in Hilliard where 47-year-old Donna Rene Dale was hiding in some thick bushes and palmettos, the Sheriff's Office previously said.

Deputies could hear her moving but couldn't pinpoint her location. So one of the deputies retrieved night vision goggles and found her in bushes near the driveway. Deputies tried to talk her out peacefully but she said she had nothing to live for. One of them pulled back the bushes so they could see her better with flashlights and saw she had a rifle. So they backed up, but that's when she put the barrel in her mouth and twice said they’d have to kill her, the Sheriff's Office said. They continued to try to calm the situation down. But it only escalated as she further wielded the rifle and Deputy Christian Copher shot her one time.

"It's hard to say what's going through people's minds when you respond to situations like this," Sheriff Bill Leeper said at the time. "Deputies have to protect themselves, and that's what they were doing.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Nassau County deputies shot and killed a suicidal gunman at cemetery